There’s a growing trend I’ve noticed among entrepreneurial circles—especially in Christian spaces—where people are equating serial entrepreneurship with apostleship. If you’ve started multiple businesses, planted some churches, or oversee a few projects, you must have an “apostolic anointing,” right?
Let’s pause and talk about it. Because the truth is, we’re starting to throw this word around in ways that sound spiritual but lack biblical and historical depth. And as a believer who honors both the Word and the assignment God gives each of us, I can’t sit silent while a sacred function gets watered down to buzzwords and branding.
Let’s get into it.
The Post That Sparked It All
This reflection was sparked by a meme I saw recently. It wasn’t directly about apostleship or even about the Apostle Paul. It was a joke about doctors using ChatGPT to pass medical school. And as I was writing a response to that meme—because I was led by the Spirit to bring correction—not because I couldn’t take a joke, but because of the underlying message it was spreading and how common that kind of messaging is within the Church—I had a moment of pause.
After I finished writing, I thought to myself, “Wow, I wonder if this is how the letters from the Apostle Paul came to be.” Because as I’m studying his writings, I see a pattern. He was often responding to the current cultural and social issues of his time. He didn’t have social media, but the spirit behind those quick jabs, passive-aggressive ideas, and viral opinions? It was just as present then as it is now.
Paul didn’t aim to be liked. He aimed to be precise and clear. He understood that some people would be convicted, receive the message, and shift their ways. Others would mock him or even try to persecute him. But either way, his mission was to communicate the heart of God with clarity so that the listener had no confusion about what he meant. The only thing they could do was either accept or reject it—not because he wasn’t clear, but because they chose to harden their hearts.
That same clarity is needed today—especially as we look at how the word “apostle” is being used in entrepreneurial and ministry spaces. The misuse of sacred terms matters, because language has power. When we distort their meaning, we blur the lines between calling and charisma, function and fame. The misuse of terms matters, because language has power. And when we misuse sacred language, we blur the lines between calling and charisma, function and fame.
Let’s Break Down the Word
The word “apostle” comes from the Greek apostolos (ἀπόστολος), meaning “one who is sent.” It’s rooted in apo (from) and stellō (to send), used originally as a naval term for an envoy sent from the empire to establish the culture of the homeland in a new territory. In today’s terms, think of it as a cultural architect sent to make the foreign feel familiar—but not in a colonial way, in a Kingdom way.
In the Hebrew worldview, which shaped Paul’s mind and message, there’s an even deeper parallel. The role of the shaliach (שָׁלִיחַ) was a legally authorized emissary, someone entrusted to carry out the full intentions and authority of the one who sent them. To reject a shaliach was to reject the sender.
So when Jesus called the Twelve and when Paul described his role, it wasn’t about prestige. It was about responsibility. About carrying heaven’s culture into spiritually barren places and establishing something true, ordered, and lasting.
Apostles don’t just start things. They establish Kingdom order. They don’t just lead teams. They build culture. They don’t just speak boldly. They correct lovingly and anchor people in truth.
Why the Entrepreneurial Confusion?
Let’s be real. Entrepreneurs are visionary. They’re often the first to break ground, take risks, and lead others into new territory. That absolutely requires leadership, discipline, and strategy—some of which overlaps with apostolic traits.
But hear me: starting businesses and having a following does not make you an apostle.
If the only reason someone is calling you an apostle is because you built something successful, that’s not apostleship. That’s brand strategy.
Apostleship is a function, not a flex. It’s not about launching a lot. It’s about carrying God’s culture and establishing divine order wherever He sends you.
It could be in business, sure. It could be in the home. In education. In media. In systems. But the common thread is this: the apostle doesn’t just build for themselves. They build what aligns with heaven, even when it costs them everything.
Let’s Talk About Paul
The more I study the Apostle Paul, the more I’m in awe—not just of his impact but of his clarity. Paul wasn’t emotionally reactive. He wasn’t performing for attention. He wasn’t collecting titles. He was deeply intellectual, deeply rooted in Christ, and radically committed to truth.
When he wrote to the churches, he was doing what I believe many of us are called to do today: bring correction in a culture swirling with confusion.
He didn’t write spiritual fluff. He didn’t over-spiritualize everything. He answered hard questions. He corrected bad doctrine. He equipped people to discern.
If Paul were here today, I honestly believe he’d be writing longform posts just like this. He’d be responding to viral thought patterns—not for clout, but out of responsibility.
He wasn’t afraid to be misunderstood. He feared God more than man.
Not everyone who breaks ground is an apostle. Not everyone who builds a brand is a sent one. And not every big voice is a Kingdom voice.
We’ve got to stop letting titles replace function and charisma replace calling.
You don’t need a title to bring order. You just need to be sent. And stay obedient.
The rest will follow.
